John Cornyn says his proposal is an ‘antidote’ to heal immigration system, not a ‘poison pill,’ as critics say

In response to those who have described the immigration plan he introduced today as “a poison pill” to kill comprehensive immigration reform, Texas Sen. John Cornyn said it would have the opposite effect.

“I consider this to be an antidote, and by that I mean this makes positive improvements in public safety and border security and facilitating legitimate commerce,” he told Texas reporters in a conference call.

Cornyn, who voted against the bipartisan Gang of Eight immigration compromise in the Senate Judiciary Committee last month, explained his new RESULTS Amendment to the Texas media hours after unveiling it in an op-ed in the Dallas Morning News.

“The reason that I voted against the bill in the committee was because I didn’t believe that the bill as currently written is credible on border security and on immigration enforcement,” he said.

His amendment, he said, focuses on requiring enforcement, security and safety and upgrading legitimate trade and travel simultaneously.

Cornyn explained that the amendment has four main aspects that must be reached within five years: 100 percent situational awareness, full operational control, a biometric exit system and a national E-Verify system.

The amendment also requires that $1 billion be delegated to the project each year, which would come from the budget of the Department of Homeland Security.

In order to reach 100 percent situational awareness, the border of the United States and Mexico must be thoroughly monitored at all times, something that Cornyn stressed does not currently exist.

Full operational control would be achieved, Cornyn said, with at least a 90 percent apprehension rate of those attempting to cross the border illegally.

In regard to a biometric exit system, Cornyn emphasized the amendment’s call for legislation that has not been administered in the past.

“Since 1996 there’s been a requirement for a biometric entry exit system for temporary visitors to the United States but that’s never been implemented,” he said. “Right now, about 40 percent of illegal immigration is people who come into the country legally and just never leave.”

The final portion of the amendment requires an E-Verify system, which is identical to that of the original bill.